An attorney for the family of the man charged in the El Paso Walmart shooting rampage says the man's mother contacted police weeks before the rampage out of concern that her son had a rifle.
Dallas attorney Chris Ayres confirmed to The Associated Press that the call was made to police in Allen. He declined to give details, but he and fellow attorney R. Jack Ayres told CNN that Patrick Crusius' mother contacted the Allen Police Department to ask about an "AK" type firearm Crusius owned.
The attorneys said the mother was only seeking information and wasn't motivated by a concern that her son was a threat to anybody. They also said the mother didn't identify herself or her son in the call.
Sgt. Jon Felty, Allen police spokesman, said there was no record of such a call and he wasn't aware of such a call.
Allen is a Dallas suburb about 580 miles east of El Paso.
A court-appointed lawyer for Crusius says he will do everything he can to ensure his client is not executed.
Twenty-one-year-old Patrick Crusius has been charged with capital murder in state court for the Saturday massacre, and may face federal hate-crime charges that could also come with a death sentence if he's convicted.
Attorney Mark Stevens told The Associated Press in an email Wednesday that he "will use every legal tool available to me to prevent" Crusius from being put to death.
Stevens, a veteran criminal defense attorney from San Antonio, said he will only represent Crusius in state court and declined to comment further on the case. A judge appointed him Monday.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's first calls for action after the El Paso shooting include cracking down on internet sites used by violent extremists and confronting racism. But the Republican didn't suggest any substantive gun-control measures.
Abbott says the state must keep weapons away from "deranged killers" but didn't offer specifics. He also told reporters the information he's received suggests there were "no red flags" with the suspected El Paso gunman.
Abbott met with lawmakers from El Paso on Wednesday in the border city. All are Democrats and have unsuccessfully pushed for gun restrictions in Texas, where three mass shootings since 2017 have killed more than 50 people.
The meeting happened as President Donald Trump was on his way to El Paso.
